Haku no Hanashi: Haku's Story
by DBAllred
Summary: Haku Enters the Spirit World for the First Time - Can he pass Yubaba's Entrance Examination? - Story's Complete
1. The New Arrival

Chapter 1  
  
The New Arrival  
  
The terminal building was the last stop for those spirits departing the physical world. Spirits are not immortal, but they nearly always remain for their entire existence among the mortals. Only those who have lost the desire to interact go there, and it's usually just to go there to die in quiet dignity. The cold stone walls in the main processing room reminded them of the human world where they no longer felt welcome--it was designed that way intentionally. The drinking fountain, positioned squarely in the center of the cavernous waiting room, dripped incessantly. The spirits could only watch and listen. The empty benches were useless to them, as sitting served no purpose whatsoever. Eating, drinking or even touching solid things no longer had meaning. The door leading out to the spirit world, on the other hand, invited those who had grown weary of their existence. Multicolored windows added a festive touch to the transition. Once the spirits passed though the threshold, they would have very little opportunity to return.  
  
It was Yubaba's turn to greet the newcomers to the Spirit World. There were about twenty spirits that day--a little lighter than usual. Nonetheless, each sentient spirit needed to be interviewed for placement. That was the bound duty assigned to the stewards of the world. Yubaba announced, [NEXT!]   
  
Nigihayami Kohakunushi, former master of the Kohaku River, drifted into position. Yubaba eyed him and proclaimed [THIS IS A NON-SENTIENT RIVER SPIRIT. WHO PUT THIS THING IN THE LINE?] Nigihayami Kohakunushi startled her by replying, [I AM NIGIHAYAMI KOHAKUNUSHI AND I BELIEVE I AM SENTIENT]. Yubaba noted almost imperceptibly, [SENTIENT RIVER SPIRIT. RARE. BLOCK SEVEN] She then directed her discussion toward the new spirit, [TAKE THE TRAIN TO NUMANOURA STATION. TELL THE GREETER YOU ARE TO BE PLACED IN BLOCK SEVEN]  
  
[BUT I BELEIVE I CAN BE OF USE TO YOU. I'D LIKE A JOB]  
  
[YOU AREN'T WORTHY OF A JOB WITH ME. BLOCK SEVEN]  
  
River spirits can bend on a point or two, but are relentless when they get determined. [I KNOW I CAN WORK VERY WELL. I NEED A JOB]  
  
[WHAT CAN A DRIED-UP RIVER POSSIBLY DO FOR ME? NUMANOURA STATION - FOURTH STOP.]  
  
[IT'S MY OPTION WHETHER I ENTER HERE OR NOT--AND I'M A FILLED-IN RIVER, NOT DRIED UP. I SEE A DRINKING FOUNTAIN HERE. I COULD MOVE INTO IT AND MAKE LIFE MISERABLE FOR YOU, BUT I'D FAR RATHER HAVE A JOB. I'LL WORK VERY HARD]  
  
Yubaba got a crusty look in her eyes and asked, [WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING I ASKED YOU TO DO?]  
  
Nigihayami Kohakunushi gave it some thought and replied, [IF IT'S HONEST WORK, I'LL DO WHAT YOU ASK]  
  
Noting the delay in his response, Yubaba figured she might have reeled in a big catch. She was bound by her duties to put anyone who persisted to work, but she was free to try to get the spirit to accept less. [I MIGHT HAVE NEED FOR AN ASSISTANT, BUT I MIGHT NEED TO HAVE YOU DO--VERY RARELY--SOMETHING, SAY... ...A LITTLE LESS THAN HONEST. A PERSON IN MY POSITION NEEDS TO BE FREE TO CONDUCT AFFAIRS WITHOUT CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS IN ORDER TO DO GOOD. I AM THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY HERE AND YOU'D NEVER GET INTO TROUBLE.]  
  
[I DON'T KNOW. I'D RATHER HAVE HONEST WORK]  
  
Yubaba had him and she knew it. [I HAVE A CONTRACT HERE TO WORK UNDER MY TERMS. BEFORE I SIGN MY NAME WITH YOURS, I NEED TO PUT YOU TO A TEST. I WILL TURN YOU INTO... ...A TWELVE YEAR OLD HUMAN BOY AND SEND YOU BACK FOR THREE HOURS. IN THOSE THREE HOURS, YOU WILL STEAL MONEY FROM THE RICHEST PERSON YOU CAN FIND AND BUY FOOD FOR THE POOREST FAMILY YOU CAN FIND. THAT IS THE KIND OF WORK I'LL NEED YOU TO DO, AND I NEED TO KNOW IF YOU'RE UP TO IT]  
  
Nigihayami Kohakunushi rationalized that it was OK to do bad things on occasion if a greater good came from it. [I WILL DO MY BEST TO MAKE YOU PROUD. I WILL MAKE SURE A HUNDRED HUNGRY MOUTHS ARE FED BY THE TIME I RETURN]  
  
Yubaba was proud, alright: proud of herself. She just got this fool to give up his most precious posession: his integrity. Stealing from the rich is still stealing. Once he signed her contract, she would have a lackey she could use for anything she desired. She cast a spell on the spirit, turning him into a young boy as she stated she would. She also cast a spell on him that made it impossible for him to get caught at whatever he decided to steal... 


	2. Into the Human World

Chapter 2  
  
Into the Human World  
  
Yubaba looked at the figure of the young man she just transformed. He was about four and one half shaku in height (one shaku is almost exactly one foot), with deep green almond eyes, and the general outward appearance and clothing of a servant in the Heian period--in other words, he would have fit right in with the other workers at her establishment. She though to herself, "The hair is OK, but that clothing must be changed--we're in the 1990s, not the 990s." She quickly changed his clothing to a public middle school uniform. It wasn't a moment too soon. Yubaba began to hear echoes of two humans approaching from their world. She instructed the potential recruit, [GET RID OF THEM. I'M NOT IN THE MOOD TO DEAL WITH OR TEST HUMANS TODAY.]  
  
"How do I do that?"  
  
[DON'T WORRY. THEY WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO SEE YOU. RIGHT NOW, YOU ARE A HUMAN. THEY CAN'T SEE OR HEAR SPIRITS] Yubaba looked at her watch then at a time sheet. [THEY ARE COMING FROM FUKUOKA. I'LL NEED TO GIVE YOU A KYUSHU ACCENT]  
  
Just then, a middle-aged couple emerged from one of the tunnels. They appeared to be tourists who happened to wander by. Nigihayami Kohakunushi, in his newly-acquired Kyushu dialect stated, "I'm sorry, but you shouldn't be here. This is private property."  
  
The husband was startled and a bit confused. "I'm sorry, but I can't understand you. Can you speak Japanese?" Yubaba recognized the slight nasal tone of the Tokyo dialect and realized she might have overdone the accent. Nigihayami Kohakunushi was able to compensate and speak conventional Japanese with a thick accent, "I'm sorry, but you shouldn't be here. This is private property."  
  
"Excuse us; we didn't know." The couple, oblivious to how closely they came to peril, turned around and headed back for their world. Yubaba then turned to her young prospect. [YOU HAVE THREE HOURS BY OUR TIME TO COMPLETE YOUR TASK. YOU WILL NOT BE JUDGED BY QUANTITY BUT BY INTENT AND ACTION. BE SURE TO USE THE POCKET WATCH I GIVE YOU. TIME, AS WELL AS SPIRITS AND LIVING CREATURES, FLOWS BETWEEN OUR WORLDS.]  
  
"If I leave now, will I end up in Fukuoka?"  
  
[NO. YOU WILL GO OUT THE SAME WAY YOU WENT IN.] Yubaba was just about to dismiss him on his task when, [OH, YES: YOU WILL NEED A TOKYO DIALECT AND A NAME--HOW ABOUT, SAY, RYU KOHAKU?]  
  
"Sounds good to me. I like the dragon reference. I don't know much about being human, though. I have seen them from my banks long ago and even managed to save a few of them from drowning in me, but I don't really know what they're like."  
  
[I HAVE GIVEN YOU ENOUGH KNOWLEGE TO LAST A FEW HOURS OUT THERE. IT WILL COME TO YOU WITHOUT THINKING. NOW GO MAKE ME, AS YOU SAID, PROUD.] At that, Ryu started back down the tunnel to the spot from which he came. Yubaba was right: it was the same place. He recognized the path and the nearby warehouse.   
  
He recognized that he was near his old home in the Tama hills above western Tokyo. For thousands of years, it was his job to transport water from a lake high in the hills to the river below. The Kohaku river was always a seasonal one; the master of the river was his busiest during the rainy season in late spring and early summer. A few years ago, his lake was drained and converted into a reservoir farm. The water no longer flowed in the Kohaku River. Instead, it went into pipes and provided drinking water to the hundreds of thousands of residents in the Tama area and kept the area golf courses green. The river finally died when its bed was filled in to make room for more condominiums and shops.  
  
For some reason, Ryu's memory of being a river was starting to fade quite rapidly. He did remember his task quite clearly and glanced at the watch as Yubaba warned. She was right about the time flowing: at that point in time, the second hand was moving very slowly--and backwards! He didn't know what to make of the situation, except that he needed to be very diligent. The time on the watch may lurch forward without warning... 


	3. The Test

Chapter 3  
  
The Test  
  
Ryu was still familiar with the area around the portal. His first order of business was to get closer to greater numbers of humans. He walked along the bank of a strange riverbed where shiny things with humans inside flowed instead of water. After a brief moment of mystification, the knowledge of the fact that it was a road and that the humans were riding in automobiles flooded into his brain. Yubaba was, indeed, providing him with the knowledge he needed when he needed it. He checked his watch. It was stopped. "Plenty of time, I hope."  
  
It was a really strange experience for Ryu--or for anybody else who would find himself in that situation. As his attention shifted away from the road, he lost the comprehension as quickly as he gained it. There were two humans a little further downstream. They were about his size, but they looked and dressed differently. He didn't comprehend why, and Yubaba wasn't providing any help. They stood next to something that he shortly understood to be a bus stop. He approached the humans. "Excuse me, but does this bus go to town?"   
  
One of them replied, "It goes to Tama Center Station."  
  
"There's no excuse for this, but I don't know how much I am to pay."  
  
The other one said, "It's one hundred seventy yen (about $1.70) all along this route."  
  
"Thank you very much..."  
  
The other human added, "Pay as you get on."  
  
"Thank you very much!" Ryu's curiosity was beginning to reach a breaking point. He was just about ready to ask why they looked, talked, and dressed differently when the answer flooded his brain. He pondered the realization. "Girls? Why was Yubaba holding that information back?"  
  
Ryu was now getting a bit curious about the females of the species. "What school do you go to?" One of the girls covered her mouth and giggled. The other replied, "Kohakugawa Elementary School, sixth year, third class"  
  
Without needing time to think, he said, "I go to Kaidori Middle School, first year." He then had a fleeting thought. "Kohakugawa? Could it be?" He asked them, "You wouldn't, per chance, know a girl named Chihiro?"  
  
The girl who was able to answer his previous question asked, "Do you know her family name? There are two I know."  
  
"Ogino, I think."  
  
She thought for a second and replied, "Sorry, I don't think I know her. What year student is she?"  
  
"Third or fourth, I think."  
  
"I'm sorry. We wouldn't know her if she's not in our class."  
  
At that, Ryu smiled at the two girls and thanked them. They looked at each other and giggled. The bus pulled up. He reached into his pocket and extracted the contents: precisely one hundred seventy yen. "All in all," he thought to himself, "that was a pleasant experience. When I return to Yubaba I'm going to ask if she can keep me in this form."  
  
Ryu took advantage of the idle time on the bus and thought about his next step. He had no idea what humans were really like. He didn't know how to identify rich people, poor people, or hungry people. He was starting to worry whether he would be able to learn where and how he was going to be able to perform his task. Yubaba seemed to come up with the information--and the one hundred seventy yen--when he needed it, so it might be that he was going to learn that information when the time was right.  
  
He was right about that...  
  
The bus pulled up to the two train stations serving Tama Center. It was definitely a busy place. There were several large structures that humans were entering and leaving. As before, he seemed to naturally acquire the knowledge that the large structures were department stores and the smaller ones were restaurants, banks, and specialty shops. It was very a clean place. The humans certainly treated their towns better than they did their rivers.  
  
Humans came in many sizes. There were little ones that were carried around, ones his size, and ones larger. There were males, females, and some he couldn't tell which. He thought maybe there were even more varieties, but his main curiosity seemed to center around the females. As his focus shifted toward the females, his recognition of the structures faded. Now he knew why Yubaba tried to hold the information back.   
  
Once again, he checked the watch. Time was moving forward, but very slowly.  
  
When he got off the bus, he was near structure where humans seemed to want to line up. He overheard what looked like a small male say to a larger female, "Mommy, I'm hungry. Can we go to MacDonalds?" "Sure," the larger one replied. The two humans then got into the line. Ryu wondered if that line might be where the hungry gather. If it were so, his job would be short and simple. Yubaba let him know that the place was a restaurant and those particular hungry people didn't need help. He also acquired the knowledge to get the money: go to the bank and ask for it...  
  
He entered the bank and was a bit bewildered at the sight. A bank employee spotted him in his confused state and asked him what he needed to do.  
  
"I need money to give the hungry," he replied.  
  
"A withdrawal. Any counter other than sixteen." He bowed and left Ryu to his task.  
  
Ryu got to the teller at counter twelve. "I need money."  
  
"Please fill out this withdrawal form," the teller requested.  
  
He started filling out the form without any thought at all and handed it to the teller. "So you want to withdraw ten million yen (about $100,000). I'll need some identification, Mr Yamashita. Ryu reached into his pocket, extracted a wallet, and removed a card with a picture on it. The photo on the card was not him at all.  
  
"Everything seems in order, Mr Yamashita. I trust you brought your official seal. The money will be ready in an hour."  
  
Ryu was very concerned about what just happened. He was glad he had the time to think about what he was doing. The bank teller saw a Mr Yamashita at the window, Ryu filled out a withdrawal slip with matching account number and name, and managed to produce a driver's license--whatever that was--with the correct information.  
  
He glanced at his watch again. It was stopped, but several minutes elapsed since the last time he looked. Suddenly, an inspiriation of considerable genius came to him. "Of course!" He sat down in the bank lobby and tried to make sure he was correct. "If my watch moves slowly, I am moving fast from Yubaba's perspective. If my watch is stopped, I am moving infinitely faster than she is. If my watch is fast, I am moving more slowly. But what if my watch is going backwards?" That part bothered him, as it appeared Yubaba was somehow controlling the speed of time. He suspected she was watching him at her leisure, speeding up or slowing down the show depending on the action. The wait for the money to arrive is probably not interesting to her, so she's advancing the action an hour--but why does the watch sometimes go backward? 


	4. Pass or Fail?

Chapter 4  
  
Pass or Fail?  
  
Ryu checked his watch again. The second hand was still immobile. He bagan to think of ways he might be able to take advantage of the situation. If his theory was correct, Yubaba certainly couldn't follow his actions. Maybe he could preserve his integrity somehow and still satisfy the task. First things were first: he didn't have the stomach to steal money, so he decided to cancel the transaction.  
  
He returned to the same teller and announced, "Excuse me, but I was just here a minute ago and..."  
  
The teller looked at him and said, "What can I do for you, sir?"  
  
"I'd like to cancel the withdrawal application if it's not too much trouble."  
  
The teller, somewhat surprised, said, "Did you request a withdrawal over five million yen? Anyway, you'll need to have your parents with you. Do you know with whom you left the withdrawal form?"  
  
"My mistake. Sorry..."  
  
Ryu left the bank. He realized that the teller saw a different person just now than the person who requested the large withdrawal. He was sure he would look like this Mr Yamashita when the hour was up, but he had no intention of returning to get his cash. "The bank will probably return the money if nobody shows up for it."  
  
Ryu passed by the same McDonalds he saw before entering the bank. He saw a large male human taking out a... ...wallet--to pay for his meal. A piece of paper fell out of his pocket when he pulled out the wallet and blew through the entryway to Ryu's feet. He looked at it curiously and... ...his mind was instantly filled with the realization that it was a ten thousand yen note (about $100). Without a pause, he picked the note up and approached the... ...man who dropped it. "Excuse me, sir. You just dropped this."  
  
"Thank you very much for your honesty, Ryu. Please accept this with my appreciation; you earned it." He handed Ryu three hundred forty yen.  
  
"How... ...never mind. Thank you."  
  
Ryu knew what he needed to do. He was going to return to Yubaba empty-handed and see how she reacts. Maybe he passed her test, maybe he failed; he would take full responsibility for whatever he did.   
  
He went to the bus stand where he got off. He was dismayed when he saw the sign; many bus lines used this stop--and he had no idea what bus stop he came from. A bus pulled up to the stop. He played a bit of a hunch, remembering the two school girls, and asked the driver if it went by the Kohakugawa Elementary School. "You'll need to take the number four bus," the driver replied--much to Ryu's relief.  
  
He glanced at his watch. Still stopped.  
  
About ten minutes and three buses later, the number four pulled up. Haku leaned in the open door and asked the driver, "This goes by the Kohakugawa Elementary School, right?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
Ryu boarded the bus and dropped the three hundred forty yen into the fare box.  
  
"Sir, you paid too much. It's one hundred seventy yen even to the last stop."  
  
"My mistake." Ryu figured that the one hundred seventy yen he pulled from his pocket earlier was an illusion that would disappear. That made him a thief in a small way--and he wanted to keep his integrity. Doubling the fare with honest money was what he thought would help set things straight.  
  
Ryu's guess about the bus line was correct; the two girls were headed home. The bus stop where he originally boarded was very near the elementary school. He recognized the stop and pushed the stop request button. From the bus, it was a short walk back the way he came. A stone wall framed the path he was to take back to the portal. The white name plate embedded in the wall said, "Natori." Below the name plate was a "No trespassing" sign. He hadn't seen them before, but the only time he passed through there before in that direction was as a spirit.  
  
The gate to the wooded area was open and it appeared it had been that way for years. He recognized the green warehouse and the shrine, but the shrine appeared much older than he remembered. Just then, a light came from inside the shrine and the entire structure suddenly took on a new, freshly painted and lacquered appearance. The shrine looked barely large enough to accommodote a human, but the doorway framed the entrance to a long tunnel. This was the way he came in before. He approached the shrine and entered the tunnel.  
  
After a brief walk, he came upon the caverous lobby where he met Yubaba. She was still there. "You're a little early, Kohaku. You still have thirty minutes." Ryu looked at his watch. It was still stopped and he had more than two hours left. "But Yubaba-sama, I still have over two hours left according to this watch." He handed the watch to Yubaba.  
  
"This old piece of junk! I should have thrown it away long ago."   
  
"What? You weren't..."  
  
"Weren't what, Kohaku?" She lowered her voice. "Your report?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Yubaba-sama, I can't bring myself to steal--whether it's one hundred seventy yen or ten million."  
  
"You disappointed me today, Kohaku. You did pass my examination, but just barely. My sister, Zeniba, has been looking for some time for an apprentice and she might have been testing you as well. Here is your contract. Sign your name or affix your seal."  
  
Ryu had already forgotten his name, Nigihayami Kohakunushi, and signed it, 'Ryu Kohaku.'  
  
Yubaba looked at the name. "Your name is too long and flowery. Besides, none of my employees could read it. From now on, your name is Haku."  
  
"Yes ma'am."  
  
At that, Haku started his career as Yubaba's assistant... 


	5. Retrospect

Chapter 5  
  
Retrospect  
  
"Furimukanaide..." (Don't look back) were the last words Haku would convey to Chihiro for several years. He watched her disappear over the hill, then turned around and headed back to face Yubaba's wrath. Yubaba was in front of the bathhouse, alone, when he returned. She looked as if she was ready to make good her threat to tear him apart. Her intense eyes told Haku everything he wanted to know. "My office. Ten minutes."  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
Yubaba disappeared into the bathhouse. Haku waited about one minute and then headed for her room at the top. As nearly as he could estimate the time, Haku announced his presence by knocking on Yubaba's outer door. The door opened. Yubaba was standing right there; she had opened the door by herself this time. "Follow me," she commanded, "I want you to see the damage you caused." They walked down the corridor toward her inner office. There were several portraits of women. "Do you see the women who grace these walls? They are my predecessors. Their responsibilities were the same as mine today: provide rejuvenation for Japan's gods. Last night you forced me to decide whether I wanted my only child or wanted to risk the future of this important enterprise. If you were my employee, I would have killed you on the spot for treason. Chihiro was my only hope of having a successor and now I may never retrieve her."  
  
"If I were your employee...?"  
  
"You are very lucky, Haku. The terms of our contract were valid until we came to a mutual agreement or until I didn't need your services anymore. When I had the Kashira (heads) dump you into the spiritual trash pit, your contract disintegrated. You have been unemployed for nearly twenty four hours."  
  
"That should mean nothing different to you about me. I didn't know I wasn't your employee so, by your standards of justice, you should destroy me."  
  
"If you were my employee, I would have had to destroy you as a matter of honor. As you are not, I am free to use my discretion. For only the second time in our association, Haku, your conduct has impressed me. I am prepared to take my justice out on you by conscripting you for five years as my aide. I promise you will never be required to do anything unethical."  
  
Haku looked like he was full of mixed feelings. "I accept your justice. If I never impressed you, why did you let me be your apprentice?"  
  
"Apprentice?" Yubaba laughed. "You? My apprentice? You were a lackey. I'd say, 'go fetch,' and you'd fetch. Until last night's events, I had no respect and little trust in you. Why do you suppose I was ready to toss you into oblivion?"  
  
Haku, under his breath, recalled, "the test..."  
  
"The test is right, Haku. When I sent you back on your task, your performance was barely acceptable."  
  
"Because I didn't go through with the withdrawal? that I chose not to be your thief?"  
  
"Haku, you have been my thief since I hired you. You were a thief during the test. You were not only a thief, but deceptive, vain, lacking in proper etiquette, and riddled with many other faults. You were honest, but not because it was the right thing to be; you were merely afraid of getting caught. Such people can be useful as employees, but they are never to be fully trusted. The incident in the bank was the only thing you did right, and there was only one thing you did that impressed me back then."  
  
"I'm afraid to ask..."  
  
"Yes, Haku. You're the only candidate who ever figured out the watch. Now lets go have some tea."  
  
END 


End file.
